


dreams you wish to see

by rarmaster



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-08-14
Packaged: 2018-12-15 05:58:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11799870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rarmaster/pseuds/rarmaster
Summary: "I wish I could show you dreams that you would want to come true..."Eri keeps having nightmares. Chirithy shoulders a lot of guilt. It'd be better to forget, but...





	dreams you wish to see

**Author's Note:**

> if you want to know more about Eri, my keykid, then head on over [here!](http://rarmaster.tumblr.com/tagged/eri)

Eri woke up screaming from another nightmare.

Just like the rest of the nightmares she’d been having over the past few weeks, the images were fleeting, barely-remembered the moment she woke up. Nothing remained but the lingering sense of dust, sweat, and… blood? Tears burned in her eyes, rolling down her cheeks, feeling warm and unreal. She clutched at her stomach, trying to hold down her sickness, trembling under the weight of the fear and horror that roiled in her chest.

Why? Why did this keep happening? Every night, it seemed, she’d be plagued by dreams she could barely understand, dreams she could never entirely remember. She sat there as she trembled and cried, trying to put the pieces together, because what else was she supposed to do?

The desert was constant, every dream filled with the dust of a dead world. She woke up every time and felt as if she had just been fighting Heartless for hours. She remembered—a face she did not recognize, but they were wearing Master Ava’s robes. She remembered—Skuld’s face, haloed by light.

A warmth pressed into her side, and Eri startled for a second, before recognizing the shape and feel as Chirithy. They clung to her as she trembled, clung to her as she took deep gasps of air to calm her racing heart. They clung to her, face buried in her side.

Fondness bubbled in Eri’s chest under the fear, and she curled her fingers in the fuzz of their head. “Just an- another bad d-dream,” she stammered, with a light laugh, trying to soothe their worries. “It’s o-okay.”

Chirithy said nothing, only clung to her a little tighter.

Ever since the dreams had started, Chirithy had encouraged her to talk about them. It didn’t do much in the department of making her feel better, but it _did_ help her piece the fragmented bits together. As if the dreams were all connected, part of one big picture. What a funny thought that was.

But, tonight…

“I d-don’t remember much about this one, Chirithy,” she told them, blinking into the darkness before her. “B- but! Th- that’s okay. Might b- be easier to go back to sleep.”

Chirith pressed themselves harder into her side, tiny arms clinging to her pajama shirt. They started mumbling something, but the words were hard to make out when their face was buried in Eri’s body like it was. She squinted at them for a moment, and then finally discerned the words as a repeated string of “ _I’m sorry_.”

Realizing that, she laughed.

“What? Chirithy, don’t be sorry!” She patted their head, trying to be reassuring. “It’s not like these nightmares are _your_ fault.”

Chirithy went silent after she said that, which was… weird. But she was too tired, too focused on the remnants of fear in her chest, to care. Sleep nipped at the edges of her mind again. She sent a glance over to the dark silhouette of her bookshelf, toying with the thought of getting a book to read, because the last thing she wanted to do was surrender herself to more nightmares, but…

It wasn’t that she was too tired to get up. It was more like for the moments it took to make her decision, reading didn’t feel like an option. For those few moments, nothing in her apartment felt wholly there. Nothing but the exhaustion in her bones and gnawing fear in her chest were real.

Well, nothing but those things and Chirithy.

“Can you stay here?” she asked them, as she shifted and made to lay back down. “Promise I won’t hug you too hard.”

“Of course,” Chirithy answered, voice choked. What, were they having nightmares too?

Eri smiled sleepily, eyes drooping. She flopped back down into her pillows, scooping Chirithy into her arms and hugging them to her chest.

“Thanks…” she whispered.

Those few moments before sleep took her were the realest things she’d felt for months now. Hugging Chirithy to her body, as fear rattled inside her and exhaustion consumed her—it was familiar. Why was it familiar?

Sleep took her again, and quickly.

(For the rest of the night, it was dreamless.)

 

 

Eri paused at the castle gates, sending a fond look back in the direction of Cinderella and her prince. She was so happy for Cinderella…

“Dreams really can come true, if you believe in them, huh?” Chirithy said, and Eri nodded to herself.

“Yeah,” she agreed. “Cinderella’s proof of that.”

Sure, she’d helped Cinderella travel safely through the path of her dream, but… She hadn’t given Cinderella the strength or the courage to pursue the dream. Cinderella found that on her own. Eri’d just helped get rid of the Heartless.

“Wish I could show you dreams that you would want to come true…” Chirithy said, suddenly, almost to themselves.

Eri turned around to look at them, surprised. Their back was turned to her, and their small body seemed to tremble. Eri should have asked what was wrong, but their words confused her, so instead she asked:

“What’s _that_ supposed to mean?” with a laugh.

Chirithy started and turned around to face her again. Their button eyes and sewn-on mouth didn’t show much expression, but when they spoke, it was shaking and nervous.

“Oh, um, nothing!” they answered, rapidly. “Let’s- let’s believe, like Cinderella. Then our dreams can come true, too!”

Eri considered her friend a moment, wondering if she should pry. But she decided to laugh, and smile, hoping to distract them from whatever was bothering them.

“Yeah!” she agreed.

 

 

The nightmares didn’t wake Eri, this night. Or if they did, she didn’t show it, didn’t sit up. She just lay in bed, clutching herself and crying, her back turned to the windowsill upon which Chirithy sat. It was a selfish thing, to be grateful they couldn’t see her face, but grateful Chirithy was. Though, it really was only a small relief. They could not see the pain on her face, no, but they could see the way her body shook, could hear the way she sobbed.

Chirithy let out a long breath and then, reluctantly, let the threads of dream magic slip away from them. They couldn’t bear to do any more, tonight.

They wished they had another option. But the new leaders had been insistent. It was best, that they didn’t tell anyone about the war. And it was for the best, that Eri forgot. “No one needs to remember that tragedy,” Ephemer had said.

Chirithy wished they could let Eri forget.

Chirithy wished they could do what they were meant to do, and protect her from nightmares. Yet, instead, they reached into the memories buried in her heart to feed her nightmares. Some Spirit they were. Some friend, too.

But someone had to remember the war.

Someone had to remember not just the concept of it, and the fact it happened. Someone had to remember how terrible the reality was, and how important it was to never make anyone face those moments again.

Eri was the only one who had been there.

Eri couldn’t forget.

 


End file.
